Heat treatment of thin polymer films

ABSTRACT

Stretch film is treated by passing a web of tackifier-containing, unbloomed thin polymer film through a heater so that the web is heated to a temperature sufficient to cause tackifier bloom prior to the web reaching a next stage in an in-line process. Also, a pattern can be applied to a thin polymer film. An oriented web of thin polymer film is passed across at least one heated roller having the pattern engraved thereon to define face regions and relief regions collectively conforming to the pattern. As the web contacts each roller surface, portions of the web positioned over the relief regions receive less heat than portions of the web positioned over the face regions, thereby causing the respective portions of the web to undergo differential, heat-induced shrinkage which imparts the pattern to the thin polymer film.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/089,831 filed on Aug. 18, 2008, the teachings of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to thin polymer films, and moreparticularly to heat treatment of thin polymer films.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Stretch film is made by producing a thin polymer film by extrusion; thefilm so produced can then be stretched in order to modify its mechanicalproperties. Such films can be given “cling” properties by adding atackifier to the polymer from which the stretch film is produced. Insome cases, the tackifier-containing films are stretched before beingwound onto a roll, and in other cases the films are wound onto the rollwithout any stretching, and the stretching is carried out when the filmis being unwound and wrapped around its load (such as several boxesstacked on a pallet).

A significant problem associated with the traditional manufacture ofstretch film having cling properties achieved by the addition oftackifier is that it has generally been considered necessary to “age”the thin polymer film, prior to stretching (whether by pre-stretchingbefore rolling or during wrapping), in a temperature-controlledenvironment to allow the tackifier to “bloom”, that is, come to thesurface of the thin polymer film. It has been believed that if the filmis stretched prior to the tackifier blooming to the surface, for examplewhere a web of the thin polymer film were passed to a stretchingmechanism shortly after production, the cling properties of the film areusually lost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the present invention, the time and cost ofaging the thin polymer film until the tackifier blooms can be eliminatedby actively causing the tackifier to bloom to the surface, preferablyshortly after production of the thin polymer film. In particular, byapplying an appropriate amount of heat to the tackifier-containing,unbloomed thin polymer film, the tackifier-containing, unbloomed thinpolymer film can be made to bloom rapidly. The thin polymer film may be,without limitation, a monolayer film, a co-extruded multilayer film, amultilayer film comprising a plurality of individual film layers, or anextrusion coating laminate.

In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a method fortreating thin polymer film. The method comprises heating a web oftackifier-containing, unbloomed thin polymer film to a temperaturesufficient to cause tackifier bloom prior to the web reaching a nextstep in an in-line process, so that the web of tackifier-containing,unbloomed thin polymer film becomes a web of tackifier-containing,bloomed thin polymer film prior to the web reaching a next step in anin-line process. The thin polymer film can be heated before beingstretched, after being stretched, or in a process that omits anystretching (other than stretching inherent in the production of the thinpolymer film). Thus, the next step in the process, after heating thetackifier-containing, unbloomed thin polymer film to induce blooming,may be a stretching step, or may be a winding step.

In one embodiment, the web is heated by being passed through a heater.The heater may comprise at least one heated roller, an infrared heaterassembly, or an electrical resistance element oven assembly.

Optionally, the method may comprise an earlier step of first producingthe web of tackifier-containing, unbloomed thin polymer film. In such anembodiment, the web of tackifier-containing, unbloomed thin polymer filmmay be produced, for example, by a blown film production process or by acast film production process. In addition, the method may comprise anoptional step of stretching the web of tackifier-containing, unbloomedthin polymer film (e.g. by passing the web through a stretchingmechanism) prior to heating the web. The method may also comprise anoptional step of stretching the web of tackifier-containing, bloomedthin polymer film (e.g. by passing the web through a stretchingmechanism) after it has been heated and thus made to bloom. Alsooptionally, the web of tackifier-containing, unbloomed thin polymer filmcould be stretched, heated so as to cause tackifier bloom, and thenstretched again.

In some embodiments, a web of tackifier-containing, stretched, unbloomedthin polymer film may be produced and then heated shortly after beingproduced (i.e. passed to the heater as a next step in an in-lineprocess), omitting any step of passing the tackifier-containing,unbloomed thin polymer film through a stretching mechanism.

In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a method forapplying a pattern to a thin polymer film. The method comprises passingan oriented web of the thin polymer film across a roller mechanismcomprising at least one heated roller. The at least one heated rollerhas at least a portion of the pattern engraved on a surface thereof, soas to define face regions and relief regions on the surface, with theface regions and relief regions collectively conforming to the pattern.As the web contacts the surface of the at least one roller, portions ofthe web positioned over the relief regions receive relatively less heatfrom the at least one roller than portions of the web positioned overthe face regions of the at least one roller, thereby causing therespective portions of the web to undergo differential, heat-inducedshrinkage whereby the differential heat-induced shrinkage imparts thepattern to the thin polymer film. The pattern may be an arrangement oflines, a pattern of similar or dissimilar geometric shapes, or maycomprise words, images or combinations thereof, such as a trademark,corporate name or corporate logo. In one embodiment, a heated roller maybe configured with changeable type, and may be used to apply an expirydate onto thin polymer film which is to be used to wrap perishableitems.

In a further aspect, the present invention is directed to a method fortreating stretch film and applying a pattern thereto. The methodcomprises passing a web thin polymer film across at least one heatedroller. The at least one heated roller has the pattern engraved on asurface thereof, so as to define face regions and relief regions on thesurface, with the face regions and relief regions collectivelyconforming to the pattern. As the web contacts the surface of the atleast one roller, portions of the web positioned over the relief regionsreceive relatively less heat from the at least one roller than portionsof the web positioned over the face regions of the at least one roller,thereby causing the respective portions of the web to undergodifferential, heat induced shrinkage whereby the differentialheat-induced shrinkage imparts the pattern to the thin polymer film.

In one embodiment, the web contains tackifier, and the web is unbloomedwhen passed across a first one of the at least one heated roller, andthe portions of the web positioned over the face regions of the at leastone roller are heated to a temperature sufficient to cause tackifierbloom prior to the web reaching a winder.

The web of tackifier-containing, unbloomed thin polymer film can bepassed across the at least one heated roller either before stretching,after stretching, between two stretching steps, or in a process thatdoes not include any stretching.

In other aspects, the present invention is directed to apparatus forimplementing the above-described methods, and to products produced bythe above-described methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the invention will become more apparent fromthe following description in which reference is made to the appendeddrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a first apparatus for treatingthin polymer film, in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of a first embodiment of anapparatus for applying a pattern to a thin polymer film, in accordancewith an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a portion of a second embodiment of anapparatus for applying a pattern to a thin polymer film, in accordancewith an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a second apparatus for treatingthin polymer and applying a pattern thereto, in accordance with anaspect of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a third apparatus for treatingthin polymer film, in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a fourth apparatus for treatingthin polymer film, in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a fifth apparatus for treatingthin polymer film, in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a roll of thin polymer film produced inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus 100comprises a film production unit 112, a stretching mechanism 114, aheater 116, and a winder 118 arranged in series. In the embodimentshown, the film production unit 112 is a blown film production unit asis known in the art, comprising an extruder 120 which feeds moltenpolymer to a die 122 so that a blown bubble 124 of thin polymer filmemerges from the die 122. Cooling units 130 cool the blown bubble 124via blown air technique, as is known in the art; alternatively (notshown) cooling units may be positioned downstream of the film productionunit 112. Where, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the thin polymerfilm is extruded, it will be at least partially oriented as a result ofthe extrusion process; this is referred to as primary orientation.

The film production unit 112 further includes a collapsing frame 126 forcollapsing the bubble 124 and a first set of pull rollers 128, so thatin operation, a web 140 of tackifier-containing, unbloomed thin polymerfilm emerges from the film production unit 112 at the first set of pullrollers 128. The web 140 may be considered to be “unstretched”,notwithstanding that some stretching may result from the process ofproducing the thin polymer film. Also, as used herein, the term“unbloomed” does not require that there be no blooming whatsoever, butrather refers to there being sufficiently little blooming that therelevant web has little or no cling properties resulting from thetackifier. Thus, a web which has experienced some negligible amount ofblooming would still be considered “unbloomed” as that term is usedherein.

Following production, the web 140 of tackifier-containing, unbloomedthin polymer film is stretched. More particularly, the web 140 ispassed, by way of a second set of pull rollers 152, through thestretching mechanism 114 which, in the embodiment shown, comprises a setof stretch rollers 154. The stretching mechanism 114 carries out astretching operation so that the web 140 of tackifier-containing,unbloomed, unstretched thin polymer film becomes a web 160 of unbloomed,stretched thin polymer film. This stretching operation results in eithermono- or bi-axially oriented film (i.e. oriented in one or twodirections). A third set of pull rollers 156 cooperates with the secondset of pull rollers 128 to increase the speed of the web as it movesthrough the stretching mechanism 114 and thereby stretch the web; thisthird set of pull rollers 156 also maintains a constant speed of the web160 of unbloomed, stretched thin polymer film as it exits the stretchingmechanism 114 and is passed to the heater 116. In the particularembodiment shown, the heater 116 comprises a heated roller 170; aplurality of heated rollers, or other suitable heating arrangements, mayalso be used. The heater 116 is configured so that as the web passesthrough the heater, the web is heated to a temperature sufficient tocause tackifier bloom on the surface of the web prior to the webreaching the next stage in the in-line process depicted in FIG. 1, whichin this case is the winder 118. Such temperature may be selected basedon several factors, including the type of thin polymer film, thedistance from the heater 116 to the winder 118, and the speed at whichthe web is moving. Typically, such a temperature will be significantlyhigher than) ordinary room temperature. For example, the web 160 may beheated to a temperature approaching the Vicat softening point of therelevant polymer. Thus, the web 160 of unbloomed, stretched thin polymerfilm is converted, by application of heat from the heater 116, into aweb 180 of bloomed, stretched thin polymer film, which, after exitingthe heater 116, is passed to the winder 118 and wound into a roll 190.

Thus, a thin polymer film having tackifier-induced cling properties isproduced by first producing a web 140 of tackifier-containing,unstretched, unbloomed thin polymer film, stretching the web 140 bypassing the web 140 through a stretching mechanism (such as stretchingmechanism 114) to produce a web 160 of tackifier-containing, unbloomed,stretched thin polymer film, and then heating the web 160 by passing theweb 160 through a tackifier bloom prior to the web reaching a winder,thereby becoming a web 180 of tackifier-containing, bloomed, stretchedthin polymer film by the time it reaches the winder (such as winder118), where it is wound into a roll.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a patterncan be applied to a thin polymer film. The thin polymer film may be,without limitation, a monolayer film, a co-extruded multilayer film, amultilayer film comprising a plurality of individual film layers, or anextrusion coating laminate. Moreover, the thin polymer film to which thepattern is to be applied may, but need not, contain tackifier. Forexample, stretched films having an outer layer made from a tacky polymersuch as EVA or metallocene may be used.

With reference now to FIG. 2, in a method according to an aspect of thepresent invention, an oriented web 210 of thin polymer film is passedacross a roller mechanism comprising at least one heated roller 222having at least a portion of a pattern engraved on its surface. The web210 of thin polymer film may be mono-axially oriented or bi-axiallyoriented. The pattern may be, for example and without limitation, anarrangement of lines, as shown in FIG. 2, or may comprise a pattern ofsimilar or dissimilar geometric shapes, or may comprise words, images orcombinations thereof, such as a trademark, corporate name or corporatelogo. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A, a heated roller may beconfigured with changeable type, and may be used to apply an expiry dateonto thin polymer film which is to be used to wrap perishable items. InFIG. 2A, the components are generally identical to those in FIG. 2,except that the heated roller is somewhat different in its exteriorconstruction. As such, identical reference numerals, with the suffix Aappended thereto, are used to refer to corresponding components.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the entire pattern is engraved on thesurface of the single roller 222; in other embodiments (not shown), aplurality of rollers may each have a portion of the pattern engraved ona surface thereof, so that the rollers can cooperate with one another toapply the entire pattern, for example where the pattern is larger thanthe surface area of a single roller. While the web 210 must be orientedbefore contacting the heated roller 222, orientation resulting from theextrusion process will generally be sufficient, and additionalstretching operations carried out prior to the web 210 contacting theheated roller 222 , although potentially advantageous, are generally notnecessary to apply a pattern to thin polymer film in accordance with theexemplary method.

The pattern is engraved on the surface of the heated roller 222 so as todefine at least one face region 224 and at least one relief region 226on the surface of the roller, with the face region(s) 224 and relief 226region(s) collectively conforming to the pattern. In the particularembodiment shown in FIG. 2, the pattern consists of a series of parallellines, and the pattern has been engraved on the surface of the roller222 in the form of a helix resulting from conforming the pattern to thecurvature of the roller 222. Thus, the engraved helix becomes a single,continuous relief region 226, and the unengraved portion (a wider helix)becomes a single, continuous face region 224. The number, shapeconfiguration and location of face regions and relief regions will ofcourse be determined by the pattern. For example, as shown in FIG. 2A,the pattern on the roller 222A is formed by the engraved word “EXPIRES”together with individual pieces of movable type 242 having lettering 244engraved thereon, to form an expiry date. As will be appreciated, themovable type permits the expiry date to be updated. The movable type 242may be secured to the roller 222A by slidable mounting in a channel, orby magnetic attachment, or by other suitable techniques, as willapparent to one skilled in the art, now informed by the hereindisclosure.

In addition, the engraving on the roller 222 is designed to prevent airfrom becoming trapped between the roller 222 and the web 210 of thinpolymer film; if air does become entrapped between the 210 web and theroller 222, the web 210 may begin hydroplaning and at certain speeds maylose contact with the roller 222 and shift sideways.

As noted above, the roller 222 is heated; heating of the roller 222 maybe by any suitable means. The temperature of the heated roller 222 isselected based on the type of polymer, together with the speed of travelof the web 210 of thin polymer film, to induce a desired amount ofshrinkage in the relevant portions of the thin polymer film.

In operation, as the web 210 contacts the surface of the roller 222,those portions of the web 210 that are positioned over the reliefregion(s) 226 receive relatively less heat from the roller than thoseportions of the web 210 positioned over the face region(s) 224 of theroller 222. In particular, the portions of the web 210 that arepositioned over the relief region(s) 226 will be partially insulatedfrom the heat of the roller 222, while the portions of the web 210positioned over the face region(s) 224 of the roller 222 will be indirect contact with the face region(s) 224 so as to receive heatdirectly from the surface of the roller 222. Because portions of the webthat are positioned over the relief region(s) 226 receive relativelyless heat from the roller 222 than those portions of the web 210positioned over the face region(s) 224 of the roller 222, the respectiveportions of the web 210 undergo differential, heat-induced shrinkage,that is, the portions of the web 210 positioned over the face region(s)224 of the roller will receive more heat and thereby shrink by a greateramount than will the portions of the web 210 that are positioned overthe relief region(s) 226. It is this differential, heat-inducedshrinkage that imparts the pattern to the thin polymer film, because thedifferential shrinkage causes the respective portions of the thinpolymer film to have different surface textures. As a result, thepattern will appear in the form of matte portions contrasting with anotherwise somewhat reflective surface of the web 210 of thin polymerfilm. Thus, a series of parallel lines 230 (that is, the pattern) arevisible on the part of the web 210 that has been exposed to the heatedroller 222. It will be appreciated that the pattern may be engraved onthe heated roller or rollers as either a positive image or a negativeimage, since the resulting thin polymer film will have a positive imageof the pattern visible on one surface and a negative image of thepattern visible on the opposed surface.

Thus, a method and apparatus have been described for producing a thinpolymer film having a pattern embodied therein, with the patternresulting from differential, heat-induced shrinkage of respectiveportions of the thin polymer film. It will be appreciated that becauseheat-induced shrinkage affects the mechanical properties of the regionsof thin polymer film that are shrunk, careful selection of patterns canbe used to influence the mechanical properties of the resulting thinpolymer film.

The above-described method for applying a pattern to a thin polymer filmmay be used with thin polymer films that do not contain tackifier, andmay also be used with thin polymer films which contain tackifier. Whenused with thin polymer films that contain tackifier, the above-describedmethod may be integrated with methods of producing stretch film havingtackifier-induced cling properties. With reference now to FIG. 3, anapparatus including a film production unit, a stretching mechanism, aheater in the form of a heated roller and a winder is shown generally at300. The apparatus shown in FIG. 3 is similar to the apparatus shown inFIG. 1, except that the heated roller 370 shown in FIG. 3 has a patternengraved thereon. Thus, analogous reference numerals, beginning with “3”instead of “1” are used to denote parts of the apparatus 300 thatcorrespond to similar parts of the apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1.Accordingly, the film production apparatus 312 in FIG. 3 corresponds tothe film production apparatus 112 in FIG. 1, the stretching mechanism314 in FIG. 3 corresponds to the stretching mechanism 114 in FIG. 1, andso on.

In operation, a web 340 of unbloomed, unstretched thin polymer film isproduced at the film production unit 312 and then passed to thestretching mechanism 314 where it undergoes a stretching operation sothat it becomes a web 360 of unbloomed, stretched thin polymer film,which is then passed to the heater 316, in this case the heated roller370 which has a pattern engraved thereon in the form of relief regionsand face regions (not shown in FIG. 3). As the web 360 of unbloomed,stretched thin polymer film passes over the heated roller 370, theportions of the web positioned over the face regions of the heatedroller 370 receive more heat and thereby shrink by a greater amount thanthe portions of the web that are positioned over the relief regions, sothat the pattern is imparted to the thin polymer film as describedabove. In addition, the temperature of the heated roller 370 is selectedso that, because the portions of the web that are positioned over therelief regions receive less heat than the portions of the web that arepositioned over the face regions, only the portions of the web that arepositioned over the face regions will bloom, while the portions of theweb that are positioned over the relief regions remain unbloomed. Thus,by appropriately selecting the pattern engraved on the heated roller370, it is possible to control which regions of the web of thin polymerfilm become tacky, so that the amount of cling in the finished stretchfilm can be tailored to the particular application in which the stretchfilm will be used.

When the web 380 of at least partially bloomed, stretched, thin polymerfilm emerges from the heater 316, it proceeds to the winder 318 where itis wound into a roll 390.

Thus, a thin polymer film having tackifier-induced cling properties, andhaving a pattern embodied therein resulting from differential,heat-induced shrinkage of respective portions of the thin polymer film,is produced by first producing a web 340 of tackifier-containing,unstretched, unbloomed thin polymer film, stretching the web 340 bypassing the web 340 through a stretching mechanism (such as stretchingmechanism 314) to produce a web 360 of tackifier-containing, unbloomed,stretched thin polymer film, and then heating the web 360 by passing theweb 360 through a heater 316 comprising a heated roller 370 having apattern engraved thereon so that the web 360 is heated to a temperaturesufficient to cause tackifier bloom on at least some portions of the weband impart a pattern to the web by heat-induced, differential shrinkage,prior to the web reaching a winder (such as winder 318), where it iswound into a roll 390.

With reference now to FIG. 4, an apparatus including a film productionunit 412, a stretching mechanism 414, a heater 416 and a winder 418 isshown generally at 400. The apparatus 400 shown in FIG. 4 is generallyidentical to the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, except that instead of aheated roller, the heater comprises an oven assembly 470, which may be,for example, an infrared oven assembly or a conventional oven assemblyusing electrical resistance elements to produce heat. Analogousreference numerals, beginning with “4” instead of “1”, are used todenote parts of the apparatus 400 that correspond to similar parts ofthe apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1. Accordingly, the film productionapparatus 412 in FIG. 4 corresponds to the film production apparatus 112in FIG. 1, the stretching mechanism 414 in FIG. 4 corresponds to thestretching mechanism 114 in FIG. 1, and so on.

Thus, a thin polymer film having tackifier-induced cling properties isproduced by first producing a web 440 of tackifier-containing,unstretched, unbloomed thin polymer film, stretching the web 440 bypassing the web 440 through a stretching mechanism (such as stretchingmechanism 414) to produce a web 460 of tackifier-containing, unbloomed,stretched thin polymer film, and then heating the web 460 by passing theweb 460 through a heater 416, in this case oven assembly 470, so thatthe web 460 is heated to a temperature sufficient to cause tackifierbloom prior to the web reaching a winder (such as winder 418), therebybecoming a web 480 of tackifier-containing, bloomed, stretched thinpolymer film by the time it reaches the winder 418, where it is woundinto a roll 490.

It will also be appreciated that in some circumstances where thinpolymer film is produced by an extrusion process, the thin polymer filmmay, as a result of the extrusion process itself, be sufficientlystretched and oriented for the application in which the thin polymerfilm is to be used. In other words, in such circumstances no additionalstretching is necessary to impart the desired mechanical properties tothe thin polymer film that emerges from the film production unit, suchfilm, notwithstanding the inherent stretching, is considered“unstretched”. Alternatively, where the thin polymer film is intended tobe stretched only when it is being wound around a load, additionalstretching during the production process is also not required. In thesesituations, no stretching mechanism need be included in the filmproduction apparatus. Typically, where the thin polymer film is to beless than 10-20 microns in thickness, additional stretching is used toachieve the desired thickness, and where the thin polymer film is to bemore than 10-20 microns in thickness, no additional stretching is done.

With reference now to FIG. 5, an apparatus including a film productionunit 512, a heater 516 and a winder 518 is shown generally at 500. Theapparatus 500 shown in FIG. 5 is generally identical to the apparatusshown in FIG. 1, except for the following. The apparatus 500 does notcontain any stretching mechanism analogous to the stretching mechanism114, and second and third sets of pull rollers 152, 156 arecorrespondingly replaced by a single second set of pull rollers 558.Also, instead of a web 140 of tackifier-containing, unbloomed,unstretched thin polymer film emerging from the film production unit 112to enter the stretching mechanism 114 to become a web 160 oftackifier-containing, unbloomed, stretched thin polymer film whichproceeds to the heater 116, a web 550 of tackifier-containing,unbloomed, unstretched thin polymer film emerges at the first set ofpull rollers 528 and passes by way of the second set of pull rollers 558directly to the heater 516. Moreover, the heater 516 is shown ascomprising a heated roller 570; the heated roller 570 may optionallyhave a pattern engraved thereon for applying a pattern to a thin polymerfilm. Aside from the above-noted differences, analogous referencenumerals, beginning with “5” instead of “1”, are generally used todenote parts of the apparatus 500 that correspond to similar parts ofthe apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1. Accordingly, the film productionapparatus 512 in FIG. 5 corresponds to the film production apparatus 112in FIG. 1, the heater 516 in FIG. 5 corresponds to the heater 116 inFIG. 1, and so on.

Thus, a thin polymer film having tackifier-induced cling properties isproduced by first producing a web 550 of tackifier-containing,unstretched, unbloomed thin polymer film, heating the web 550 by passingthe web 550 through a heater 516, in this case a heated roller 570, sothat the web 550 is heated to a temperature sufficient to causetackifier bloom prior to the web reaching a winder 518, thereby becominga web 580 of tackifier-containing, bloomed, unstretched thin polymerfilm by the time it reaches the winder 518, where it is wound into aroll. Where the heated roller 570 has a pattern engraved thereon, thethin polymer film so produced will have a pattern embodied therein, withthe pattern resulting from differential, heat-induced shrinkage ofrespective portions of the thin polymer film, and tackifier bloom may bepresent only on certain portions of the thin polymer film.

In some instances, it may be advantageous to stretch a thin polymer filmboth before and after inducing tackifier bloom by heating. Withreference now to FIG. 6, an apparatus including a film production unit612, a first stretching mechanism 614A, a heater 616, a secondstretching mechanism 614B, and a winder 618 is shown generally at 600.The apparatus 600 shown in FIG. 6 is generally identical to theapparatus shown in FIG. 1, except that in addition to the firststretching mechanism 614A which is upstream of the heater 616 andanalogous to the stretching mechanism 114 in FIG. 1, the apparatus 600also includes a second stretching mechanism 614B located downstream fromthe heater 616. Thus, a web 640 of tackifier-containing, unbloomed,unstretched thin polymer film emerges from the film production unit 612to be stretched by the first stretching mechanism 614A so as to become aweb 660 of tackifier-containing, unbloomed, stretched thin polymer film,is heated by proceeding through the heater 616 to become a web 680 oftackifier-containing, bloomed, stretched thin polymer film and is thenfurther stretched by proceeding through the second stretching mechanism614B to emerge as a web 685 of tackifier-containing, bloomed,further-stretched thin polymer film, which is then wound by winder 618into a roll 690. The heater 616 is shown as comprising a heated roller670; the heated roller 670 may optionally have a pattern engravedthereon for applying a pattern to a thin polymer film. Aside from theabove-noted differences, analogous reference numerals, beginning with“6” instead of “1” are generally used to denote parts of the apparatus600 that correspond to similar parts of the apparatus 100 shown inFIG. 1. Accordingly, the film production apparatus 612 in FIG. 6corresponds to the film production apparatus 112 in FIG. 1, the heater616 in FIG. 6 corresponds to the heater 116 in FIG. 1, and so on. Thecomponents of the first stretching mechanism 614A are denoted by thesuffix “A” and the components of the second stretching mechanism 614Bare denoted by the suffix “B”.

Thus, a thin polymer film having tackifier-induced cling properties isproduced by first producing a web 640 of tackifier-containing,unstretched, unbloomed thin polymer film, stretching the web 640 bypassing the web 640 through a first stretching mechanism 614A to producea web 660 of tackifier-containing, unbloomed, stretched thin polymerfilm, heating the web 660 by passing the web 660 through a heater 616(in this case heated roller 670) so that the web 660 is heated to atemperature sufficient to cause tackifier bloom prior to the webreaching the next stage of the in-line process, thereby becoming a web680 of tackifier-containing, bloomed, stretched thin polymer film. Theweb 680 of tackifier-containing, bloomed, stretched thin polymer filmthen proceeds to the next stage of the process, in this case a secondstretching mechanism 614B, which further stretches the web so that itbecomes a web 685 of tackifier-containing, bloomed, further-stretchedthin polymer film, which then proceeds to the winder 618, where it iswound into a roll 690. Where the heated roller 670 has a patternengraved thereon, the thin polymer film so produced will have a patternembodied therein, with the pattern resulting from differential,heat-induced shrinkage of respective portions of the thin polymer film,and tackifier bloom may be present only on certain portions of the thinpolymer film.

While the examples depicted above in FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 have shownonly a single heater, one skilled in the art, once informed by thedisclosure herein, will appreciate that multiple heaters may be used atmultiple stages in an in-line process. For example, a thin polymer filmcould be heated to induce tackifier bloom, stretched (which would reducethe cling properties of the film), and then heated again to inducefurther tackifier bloom. Other similar variations are also within thecontemplation of the inventor.

In the exemplary embodiments described above and illustrated in FIGS. 1,3, 4, 5 and 6, the initial web of unbloomed, unstretched thin polymerfilm is described and illustrated as being produced by a blown filmprocess. One skilled in the art, once informed by the disclosure hereincontained, will appreciate that, with suitable adaptation, cast filmtechniques may also be used without departing from the scope of thepresent invention.

It will be appreciated that an apparatus according to the presentinvention need not include a film production unit, and may or may notinclude a stretching mechanism. For example, unbloomed thin polymer filmcould be produced and rolled (with or without pre-stretching) at a firstlocation, and transported to a second location. At the second location,the unbloomed thin polymer film could be introduced to an apparatusadapted to receive a web of unbloomed thin polymer film and comprising aheater and a winder, so that a web of unbloomed thin polymer film isreceived by the apparatus, heated sufficiently to induce tackifier bloomby being passed through the heater so that it becomes a web of bloomedthin polymer film, and then passed to the winder to be wound into aroll. Optionally, such an apparatus may include a stretching mechanismupstream of the heater, downstream of the heater, or both upstream anddownstream of the heater, so that one or more stretching steps may becarried out, with tackifier bloom being induced prior to the webreaching the next stage of the in-line process.

Thus, a thin polymer film having tackifier-induced cling properties maybe produced by receiving a web of tackifier-containing, unbloomed thinpolymer film, heating the web by passing the web through a heater sothat the web is heated to a temperature sufficient to cause tackifierbloom prior to the next stage in the in-line process (which may be astretching mechanism or a winder), thereby becoming a web oftackifier-containing, bloomed thin polymer film by the time it reachesthe next stage.

The thin polymer film in respect of which aspects of the presentinvention may be applied may be, without limitation, a monolayer film, aco-extruded multilayer film, a multilayer film comprising a plurality ofindividual film layers, or an extrusion coating laminate. An exemplaryroll of thin polymer film produced according to an aspect of the presentinvention is shown in FIG. 7, and is indicated generally by thereference numeral 700.

Typically, the thin polymer film will be sufficiently thin, and will bemoving at sufficient speeds, that no additional cooling is requiredafter the film has passed through the heater, such as heated roller 170,222, 370, 570 and 670, or oven assembly 470. Optionally, however, acooling station may be positioned downstream of the heater.

Because the above-described methods and apparatus avoid the need to agetackifier-containing thin polymer film prior to using it or stretchingit, it becomes possible to produce a roll of finished stretch filmhaving tackifier-induced cling properties in a single, in-lineoperation. This may be done either by producing the thin polymer filmand then heating it, or by heating a thin polymer film produced on adifferent apparatus. In particular, because the blooming induced by theheating causes the thin polymer film to relatively immediately becometacky, the film can be wound in gap mode, thereby facilitating theformation of soft rolls. Thus, the aging process, that is, storage in atemperature controlled warehouse, may be eliminated. In addition,patterns may be applied to the thin polymer film.

Suitable polymers for producing the thin polymer films includepolyolefins, such as polyethylene and its copolymers, as well asplasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Suitable bio-polymers, such aspolylactic acid (PLA) may also be used, as can suitable thermoplasticresins. Suitable film thicknesses are from about 0.2 microns to about 50microns. Suitable tackifiers include low molecular weight polyolefins,such as polyisopropylene, and large molecular monomer organic compoundsas glycol and phthalates.

One or more currently preferred embodiments have been described by wayof example. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that anumber of variations and modifications can be made without departingfrom the scope of the invention.

1.-7. (canceled)
 8. A thin polymer film carrying a pattern defined by atleast one first region that has undergone greater heat induced shrinkagethan at least one second region.
 9. The thin polymer film of claim 8,wherein: the thin polymer film contains tackifier; the tackifier in theat least one first region is bloomed; and the tackifier in the at leastone second region is unbloomed. 10.-18. (canceled)